‘David Byrne’s American Utopia’ coming to Broadway in October (tickets on sale)
photo By Bryan Derballa
By Bill Pearis
David Byrne‘s acclaimed American Utopia tour is indeed coming to Broadway for 16 weeks at the Hudson Theatre from October 4, 2019 – January 20, 2020 (the official opening is October 20). Like the tour, this stage production features Byrne and 11 musicians presenting his songs — both solo and Talking Heads — in an “untethered” form on a stage free of cables, amplifiers and other equipment that is visually striking and sonically powerful, with choreography by Annie-B Parson. Tickets are on sale now.
David explains further about his decision to bring American Utopia to Broadway:
Because of how theatrical the show is, others started telling me ‘this needs to go to Broadway.’ Why not? But what did that mean? Parked in a beautiful Broadway theater we can perfect the sound, the lights, the movement. I thought to myself that this new context might be good – it might bring out the narrative arc a little bit more, to make it just a little more explicit. I asked Alex Timbers, whom I’d worked with twice before on musicals, to help. He brought some original and insightful ideas to the room, ideas I was too close to imagine, and we used those to build on what we had.
People ask me will I be darting into a town car after these shows or taking a flying leap onto my bicycle…take a wild guess.
Watch a trailer for the show below. Leading up to the Broadway run, Byrne will present American Utopia at Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre from September 11 – 28 (tickets).
